Smoke detector alerts Jamesport FD to basement fire

Jamesport firefighters doused a small basement fire late in an empty Riverhead home Monday night after a smoke alarm alerted firefighters of the incident.

Jamesport Fire Department received the automatic fire alarm from a house on Sound Shore Road just before 10 p.m., firefighters at the scene said. The fire chief who arrived at the scene found smoke inside the locked house, which was empty at the time of the fire, according to police.

A neighbor, who was on the phone with the owner of the house, passed along the code to the garage, where fire officials were able to take a back-up key and enter the house, police said.

The fire started underneath the first-floor fireplace, an officer at the scene said. Three engines were called to the scene as firefighters quickly “got to the root of the issue” and used fans to clear smoke from the house. Firefighters then used saws to break up the mantle to access other parts of the house, police said.

No one was harmed in the fire. The cause of the fire was not immediately available, police said. Jamesport Fire Department and the Riverhead Fire Marshall are investigating the incident.